Devils Tower, WY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We covered a lot of ground on our trip out west.  We saw several well known parks and monuments.

 

The north western most point we reached was Devils Tower Wyoming. 

 

There was some tough competition but we agreed that this, in many ways, was the main event.

Like some of the previously mentioned monuments, there is something so special about Devils Tower when you first see it.  It is so overwhelming.

We went in to the park, paid the small fee, and went to the welcome center.  Inside, we chatted with a great ranger and some other travellers.  I talked to a truck driver from Indiana.  We traded friendly insults about each others state, and then we admitted that we both found ourselves in the other's state- and that we honestly enjoyed visiting.  Two guys came in to the center to ask about climbing permits.

There is the great image of the bear climbing the formation to get to the seven Indian girls.  It is a great painting, and a great origin story of Devils Tower.

We did take the hike around it, which was great.  I actually suggested a second lap around, but I was outvoted.

We did hear a rattle sound at one point, we thought in the distance!  This could have been anything, but it made us look around very carefully.

We noticed people speaking French while we were there, and we chatted with other hikers from Louisville, and from Lowell Mass!  One guy (pictured) was doing a great sketch of Devils Tower.

We spent a good amount of time at Devils Tower.  We picked up a few postcards and filled the out, in site of Devils Tower and left the park area.

On our way out, we noticed a nice big field full of prairie dogs!  We really developed a love for these little guys on this trip, again taking a moment to stop and take some pictures.

Just outside of the park, we stopped at the Devil's Tower Trading Post.

This place was great, and it has one of the all time coolest souvenirs.  I couldn't resist picking up a plush green alien doll.

We went over to the post office next door to mail our postcards.

The postmaster here was great, kindly placing nice cancels on my cards and chatting about the area.  She took a moment to write down the name and contact information of a cachet maker who does a nice Devils Tower cover.

If you collect stamps or postmarks, it is worth stopping here to check out some of the covers they have framed on their walls.  This is a VERY friendly post office, so make sure you stop by and say hello when you drop your postcards off for the "Devils Tower, WY" postmark.

A family was camping out near the post office.  They had a Chihuahua in his own little tent!  I know, this has nothing to do with Devils Tower, but I love Chihuahuas and this photos is adorable!